Danny Bellio is delighted with his TMFC time of 6.15 which is a personal best. "It's my first year in the class after running the same car in Comp Eliminator with a different engine. This is completely different game and great fun." More details on the car can be found at www.dannycars.be.

Robert Joosten (Pro Mod) said after stopping on track "We had a problem with the Lenco which we have taken apart and are still trying to diagnose. Our 6.46 earlier means that we are still in the field. After we damaged the motor at Finland we have a new block and rods and so we have run for a baseline time again and can step up as needed."

Steen Jorgensen is pleased to have solved an electrical problem on his new Pro Stock bike. "We are now moving forward after five aborted runs", he said. The bike is self-built unlike many others in the class and details can be seen at www.venexiracing.dk. The frame is a Koenig item. Steen was Danish champion 2 years ago.

Kenneth Vik (above, pictured with daughter Victoria) said "the first pass was not perfect and on the second I drifted to the right and got off the throttle. I have to do better at least than 7.7 to get into the field." The bike was bought from Vesa Rautio a year ago and it's Kenneth's first season with it. "I was Nordic Funny Bike champion in 2005 and started racing in 2001." Support comes from Proff Partner tools and equipment.

Fredrik Fredlund from Finland is third new entrant into the Pro Stock bike wars. He races a bike that is rented from Orjan Gustavsson and pits alongside Anders Larsson. "My 7.66 puts me in the field", he said. "My bike is 1640cc and has to be 15kg heavier than a 1500cc bike. My best so far is 7.61 at Alastaro but the bike should be able to run 7.4s. I come from Pro Street bike which is one class below Super Street and won the SDC championship four years in a row. I've been racing for 13 years and always wanted to be in Pro Stock Bike", he added.

In Pro Mod, Micke Gullquist whose King Kong heads are pictured, had traction problems with shake early on in the left hand lane and had to lift twice. "I still ran a 6.53. This was only the sixth run this year and we have some tuning work to do."

Fellow Pro Mod racer Seppo Saapola is back at the track after a night in hospital for observation after jarring his back. "The parachutes didn't deploy properly and dropped on the ground", he said. "The car went over the gravel trap and bounced twice in the process, which is what hurt my back. I was released from hospital this morning but have been advised to rest for four weeks to allow it to heal. There's about a week's work needed on the car and my crew chief will work on this and I hope we will make it to Santa Pod. It's a shame I can't continue here as the run was perfect and showed that the changes we have made to the car worked."

Kaj-Erik Nieminen is a newcomer to Pro Mod and has only seven runs on the new car. "We are still finding the setup", he said. I was twice Finnish champion in the Outlaw class. My car was built by Tami Brander with a nitrous Reher Morrison engine and they have helped me technically. We are still very much on a learning curve."

Andy Carter was pleased with his 4.732 which is a new personal best ET, a new track record and one half of a new European ET record. "Urs took that from me and I'm now trying to get it back", he said. "It is the event that is important to me and I'm not too worried about the record. I was excited at the end and it's one battle in the war but the race is important and hopefully I can really get excited on Sunday night. Drag racing does have highs and lows. I stopped fine and have no problem slowing the car from 300mph. Thanks to Lucas Oil, my associate sponsors, Per and Karsten and the whole crew - they have been fantastic."

Fredde Fagerstrom (above, with "King Fredde" cap donated by the Lindahl brothers) said, "The first run, I had a lot of wheelspin, and on the second, tyreshake the whole way. The track is almost too good and we made a mistake with the clutch settings and we are on new tyres as well. We will need to calm it down."

Arvid Grødem, pictured examining the data from his 6.19 said "On the run we only had minor shake and we were expecting a better ET and speed. We have also had mechanical problems and had to change a centre and rear axle which broke with severe tyre shake yesterday and burnt some pistons today. Hopefully this will fix the problems but the compression is looking to low on the leakdown as well, so the motor is struggling. We will run an exhibition at Gardermoen and then Hockenheim and Santa Pod".

Stig Neergard beat his personal best with a 5.19. "We're happy but the car has been better to 60ft, with a 0.84 in the UK compared to our 0.92 here", he said. "We are working on the clutch because it has been smoking the tyres after 300ft and we softened it to avoid that. My best wishes go to Donny Holbrook who can't be here due to family bereavement. Thanks to him the team are working reliably on the car and I only have to supervise."

Joran Persåker paid an unscheduled trip to the gravel trap this morning in his Top Fuel Dragster. "There is no damage fortunately, the car is only dirty from the kitty litter. It was a smooth run to 5.22 but the clutch was slipping. The problem came when I didn't move the parachute lever properly, but we will be running again", he said.

Patrik Wikström's 6.64 was only the second run on the new Pro Mod car. "There was a lot of fuel in the tune-up but we want to start safely and do 10-15 runs to see how the car goes. It feels really good and there is a lot of leading edge equipment including a carbon fibre interior."

Marc Meihuizen (Pro Mod) came to a halt with oil leaking. "It was only a lead to the oil pressure guage that had come loose", he said. "It's irritating because it's the second time it has happened; it occured in Finland as well. I think the steel connector is not tightening on the aluminium thread."

Terje Håkonsen who runs this beautiful Pro Mod Pontiac Firebird, said "We're happy because after doing some serious engine damage in testing and a new Crower clutch, we have succeeded in coming up with a baseline of 6.55 with a 1.02 60ft. We can get much more power down now. Thanks go to our sponsor Proff Parker."

Super Twin team Zodiac Racing's Roel Koedam (above, right, with team owner Ton Pels) said "It was a straight run but the tuneup was quite soft. You want to start easy and build up." The bike has new ignition, butterflies and air intake forward of last year. "The first run felt so different from the Top Fuel bike - it shakes more and you need to lean more to keep it straight", said Roel.

Ulf Nylen's Super Twin bears a mural of Huntington Beach, California on the rear fender. Ulf said "I scraped the wall with the headers but hope we will be out again for the next run - I'm fine." 2006 Super Twin champion Ronny Aasen is helping on the team this weekend. He said "I had too much travel in the championship series and it was becoming less fun, particularly after we lost Svein. I've had time to reconsider and have made some major changes and will be back re-invigorated next year."

Regular Eurodragster news contributor Asko Määttä(above, pictured with wife Terttu, known also as 'Jepa') is qualified 8th in Top Fuel Bike. He said "We need to get the boost on the turbo funny bike up and I have buttons to advance or retard the timing to help this. I ran a seven in mid June and on the eighth want to run a four. I've been racing since 1971, had my first race bike in 1979, a H-D Sportster and bought this bike in 2002."

Asko said, "The bike is an former record-holding Pro Stock frame from the 1980s which I strengthened. The bike went into the low eights from the start, but in 2003 I came off and suffered head injuries and a dislocated jaw, but came back as I love racing. I built one of the first junior dragsters in Europe in 1987 and my son Mika, who is now my crew chief, drove it at the age of eight. For one year in 1993 I raced a TMFC rented from Timo Aartoma and ran a best of 6.37 at 220+. I had spent the previous seven years as a mechanic for Jarmo Kuutniemi. Now I just enjoy racing and still get excited at the adrenaline rush. I tell my friends I will race another twenty years until I am seventy and then park the bike at the finish line and advertise it for two Euros." Using Baldie's knowledge, Finnish bike magazine Bomber will be running an article in a forthcoming edition showing how you can build a seven second funny bike very cheaply.

Gunther Söhn qualified no.2 in the first session of Super Twin. "It has been hard to find the setup with this weather", he said. "Running over the eighth is definitely safer and better than no race but not as exciting. After Gardermoen we are running in a Top Fuel vs Super Twin shootout at the Nitrolympx which is a very important race for myself, my customers and sponsors."

Hans Olav Olstad (above) is not qualified after session one after losing a blower belt. "It broke after 100m, but the launch was pretty good", he explained. "It was the same setup as in Finland with which I beat Roel in the quarter final but damaged my crank." Team Zodiac then came to the rescue as Ton Pels took the crank back to Holland and reground it; after some 4am finishes he brought it back to Mantorp in time. "I'm really grateful to them - it shows how competitors in drag racing help each other."

Stavaros Svrachnos's bike has a picture of Homer Simpson as the Incredible Hulk (above). "I have been racing Pro Stock bikes for eight years and have been Greek champion for the last four. I bought the bike from Motospeed in 2004 after it had been run by Roger Pettersson and Roger Lyren. I have a new engine from Vance and Hines and ran a 7.46 at Hockenheim in 2005. In Greece the tracks are not so good and my 7.628 track record is the best for any bike in Greece. Every year the organisation of the sport in Greece improves. Stavaros is joined by team-mate Bousinis Haralambos and they are qualified fifth and seventh respectively.

Ian King is no.1 qualifier in Top Fuel Bike. He said "The bike felt slow off the line but pulled well after 60ft. On our last run in Finland we ran 6.47 even with losing a drive belt at 1000ft. From there my crew chief Mick Beaumont brought the bike to Mantorp and will transport it do Gardermoen and Hockenheim as my work commitments don't allow me to travel with it this year."